More than 125 local elected officials and city staff gathered at the Marriott Riverfront in Savannah, Ga., Jan. 27-29, 2005, to learn about Creating Sustainable Communities for the 21st Century.

Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson acted as the facilitator of the two-day seminar that included city leaders from more than 30 states across the country.

?I learned a tremendous amount about building sustainable communities.,? said Greenville, N.C., Councilmember Mildred Council. ?Meeting and sharing ideas with other local elected officials, while hearing such dynamic presenters, was a great way to spend two days.?

On the first day of the conference participants heard from William Shutkin, president and CEO of The Orton Family Foundation.

Shutkin is an attorney, educator, social entrepreneur and a leading voice for sustainable development in the United States.

Shutkin offered participants not simply an academic or theoretical approach but rather a challenging look at advancing sustainable community development.

Kentucky League of Municipalities Executive Director Sylvia Lovely, president of NewCities Foundation, moved the program forward with an interactive presentation on new approaches for creating the New City of the 21st Century.

Lovely focused the program on the creation of the intentional city and the 12 principles of the NewCities Foundation.

Henry Moore, a native of Savannah and a faculty member of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute of Northwestern University?s Institute for Policy Research, offered participants a full-afternoon session on building communities from the inside out, challenging participants to look at all of the assets of the community.

Moore provided attendees a different look at community inclusion, how to go beyond agency services and more importantly, how to involve the wider community as a whole.

Moore?s practical approach and common place examples to community building gave participants a practical, hands-on approach to use in their communities.

On the final day of the program, participants were offered the opportunity to choose from two different workshop tracks for a more in-depth approach to learn about ?The Keys to Sustainable Communities? with author Gwendolyn Hallsmith in the morning.

Continuing the afternoon part of the workshop, Tad Long, advisor to the NewCities Foundation, provided a session that helped local officials work on ?Implementing a Community Plan of Action? to use when they returned to their home communities.

Alternatively, participants had the opportunity to attend a full day workshop that focused on ?Strengthening Families with Practical Approaches for Municipal Leaders? in the morning led by Jolie Pillsbury and San Antonio, Texas, Department of Community Initiatives (DCI) Director Dennis Campa.

For the afternoon portion, Jolie and Dennis continued the full-day workshop with a focus on ?Strengthening Families and Overcoming Challenges while Getting Results.?

The strengthening families workshop session was offered in conjunction with the NLC Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.

The next Leadership Training Institute two-day program will be held in New Orleans, April 21-23 to explore the ?Power of Democratic Governance: Engaging Citizen?s as Partners.? Advance registration deadline is March 1.

For more information on the Leadership Training Institute, visit the National League of Cities website at www.nlc.org or call the Leadership Training Institute Hotline at 202-626-3170.